This Tiny Owl Was Rescued From Inside The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree After It Arrived In NYC
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is one of the most exciting parts of celebrating the holidays in New York City.
The tradition first started back in 1931 while Rockefeller Center was still in the process of being built. Workers who were part of the enormous construction project decided to put their money together to buy the tree, which they then decorated with things their families had made.
In the years that followed, a Christmas tree continued to be purchased and decorated for the center.
The trees got bigger and more popular as the years went on, and in 1951, NBC put the tree lighting on TV (it didn’t become a regular broadcast occurrence until 1997, though).
The massive trees are typically Norwegian spruces that are at least 75 feet tall and selected from the states of New York, Pennsylvania, or Connecticut. They are transported to the Big Apple, and installation occurs during mid-to-late November.
Workers only began using scaffolding to decorate the Rockefeller Center tree during the 1950s. Prior to then, it took over 20 men a total of 10 days of work to set up the holiday landmark.
Back In 2020, the Norway Spruce sitting in Rockefeller Center was selected from Oneonta, New York, and it came with an unexpected surprise: a small owl was discovered inside the tree after it arrived in New York City.
A man employed by the company in charge of transporting the Christmas tree to Rockefeller Center noticed that there was a tiny little owl sitting in the tree.
He couldn’t just leave the small creature alone in there, right in the middle of Manhattan, so he knew he had to take the owl home.
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He called his wife before he did, and she ended up reaching out to Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in Saugerties, New York.
She asked if they could rehab the owl, and they shared the incredible story on their Facebook page.
“Yesterday morning, I received a phone call from someone who asked if we take in owls for rehabilitation,” the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center wrote on Facebook.
“I replied, “Yes, we do,” there was silence for a moment, and she said, “OK, I’ll call back when my husband comes home; he’s got the baby owl in a box tucked in for the long ride.” I asked where her husband was when he found the owl.”
“She said he works for the company that transports and secures the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.”
Ravensbeard Wildlife Center agreed to help the owl, and they drove to meet the man and his wife. Once the owl was in their hands, they realized it was a Saw-whet owl, which is the tiniest of all the owls seen in the Northeast.
The tiny owl was given the fitting name of Rockefeller and was released back into the wild one week later.
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